Long Term Care
The average cost of a nursing home in South Carolina is approximately $69,000 per year. At this rate, it is easy to see how your hard earned life savings can disappear quickly. If we all had a crystal ball to know how long we would live and how healthy we may or may not be as we age, then we could plan perfectly for the future. In an ideal world, we would have some money set aside to be able to enjoy our retirement years, pay for any medical costs that come up, and still have some assets left over that we can leave as a legacy to our loved ones. Because there are no crystal balls, and health care costs are the most unpredictable element in this plan, the following are some options of planning for this contingency:
Long Term Care Insurance Plans are a great benefit to have to pay for nursing home and other care, however, the costs of purchasing a plan may be out of reach, particularly if you wait until you are already at retirement age.
Medicare will cover the cost of some nursing home care, however only if you require care from a skilled nursing facility. If you only need custodial nursing home care, which is mainly assistance with the activities of daily living, then Medicare will not cover these costs. Currently Medicare will pay for your first 20 days in a skilled nursing facility. Medicare will help to cover the next 80 days, but you will have a co-pay of $170/per day. When your Medicare benefit runs out, the remaining expenses for your nursing home stay must be paid for out of pocket.
Medicaid is a program that will cover long term care costs, including some home health options and nursing home stays. However, one must meet certain eligibility criteria to receive Medicaid benefits. In 2024, a single individual can only have an income of $2,829 per month, and assets of $2,000 in cash or non-exempt assets in order to qualify in South Carolina. Until your assets are below this amount, you are not eligible for any Medicaid benefit. Some use their life savings to pay for health care until they reach the $2,000 threshold, and then become eligible for benefits. Our law firm has legal tools to help you preserve some of your assets and still qualify for Medicaid. The following are examples of the legal tools available:
Medicaid Asset Protection Trusts are effective tools for preserving your savings if you have time to transfer the assets into the trust at least five years before applying for Medicaid.
Spend Down Techniques. Our firm can educate you on legal strategies to spend down your assets in ways that will provide long-term benefits for your family.
Income Trusts can be created for clients whose income may be too high to qualify for Medicaid but not high enough to cover their monthly costs for long-term care. Income can be preserved in a trust and used for your benefit to pay for some necessary expenses, while at the same time allowing you to qualify for Medicaid benefits.
Schedule a consultation with our firm, and we can discuss how these legal tools can be used to protect your family and your assets.